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BREADCRUMB

VIRTUAL LEARNING AND TEACHING AT NOTRE DAME

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March 22, 2020

Notre Dame teachers prepare for a second week of virtual learning.
 

Notre Dame fifth-grade teacher Jennette Wrobel works from home on the first day of virtual learning.

 
When Notre Dame announced the closure of all school buildings after Gov. Whitmer's order, it set in motion a number of initiatives and procedures designed to help ensure that NDPMA families, above all else, would stay safe. It also required the school to quickly put in place a virtual-learning environment for students and teachers who were entering an academic world quite different than what they were used to.
 
Jennette Wrobel, who teaches fifth grade at Notre Dame Lower School, said the closing caught her and everybody off guard.
 
"I believe it was the right thing to do in such unprecedented times," she said. "It's important to us at NDPMA that we do our part to help slow the spread of COVID-19."
 
Now, with students and staff working and learning from home, Wrobel and her fellow Notre Dame teachers are relying on an IT infrastructure that, while not without a few unexpected hiccups, is beginning to smooth out.
 
Eden Konja, the school's director of information and academic technology, said his staff is working diligently to help everyone in the community get through the next few weeks as efficiently as possible.
 
"Notre Dame is fortunate in that with our designation as a Microsoft Showcase and Apple Distinguished School, we were better prepared than without those designations," he said. "Whether we're on campus or not, our technology team is working very hard to help resolve any technical issues as quickly as possible."
 
Notre Dame seventh-grade teacher Kelly Simon, who has one child in the lower school and two in the middle school, said the first week of distance learning was all about finding the new normal.
 

Kelly Simon, who teaches seventh-grade reading and eighth-grade language and literature, says teaching from home in front of a computer is her new normal.

 
"I sat at my computer from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, which seemed like a lot," she said. "I don't sit when I teach, so this is very different. The sounds of our house now are typing, a squeaky clarinet, and girls fighting and laughing. I don't necessarily want to teach or parent from a desk, but I love to teach and love being a mom. And I believe our kids are now in a safe place given all that's going on in our world."
 
Jocelynn Yaroch, a science teacher and department chair at Notre Dame Prep, said thus far, her students appear to be making excellent progress in their "virtual" science classes.
 
"Students have been meeting with teachers via Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts and Zoom on an as-needed basis," she said. "They've also been using discussion forums and email, so the lines of communication are wide open." 
 

Notre Dame Prep science teacher and department chair Jocelynn Yaroch was working Sunday to prepare for the second week of virtual teaching.

 
She also said that teachers are working hard to make sure that students are able to have either simulated or hands-on lab experiences at home to support their learning.  
 
“While this has not been an easy transition, I think all parties involved are rising to the occasion to make the best of less-than-ideal circumstances."
 
Kim Anderson, vice principal of Notre Dame Prep, said she's amazed by how the NDPMA community has responded during a very challenging time.
 
"Although there were a few bumps during our first day and week of virtual leaning, NDPMA teachers and students came together as a resilient educational community and demonstrated patience and flexibility," she said. "Because of the support of our exceptional IT department, our teachers were already familiar with the most recent online learning tools. On March 13, we were able to provide teachers with mini-workshops to make sure they were able to move forward with the most updated educational technology tools. I am very confident that NDPMA will be able to maintain its exceptional academic program."
 
Wrobel said that overall, she thinks Notre Dame is very fortunate to have the technology in place. 
 
"We have access to so many different apps and programs that I feel like anything is possible," she said. "This situation also has given me the opportunity to learn about features on my iPad that I was not familiar with before. Knowing everything that we have on these devices to be utilized for virtual teaching really makes me feel that I am not limited in what I can do with my students from home, and I am very grateful for that."
 
Students and parents may contact IT Support from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday by emailing itsupport@ndpma.org. If you need to schedule an in-person appointment, please email the IT department and a team member will get back to you as soon as possible. Limited support will be available during evening hours and weekends.
 

Simon’s daughter Josie, a third grader at Notre Dame, works on a math assignment at home.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

Follow Notre Dame on Twitter at @NDPMA.

About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three school are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.